Where is Joseph Scott Hatley Now? We discuss the murder of Susan Woods following the release of the 2023 Hulu true crime series Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks. This article contains disturbing details.
When it comes to odd situations that happen to women, it’s almost always someone they have been close to or even met once. The stories that have come out recently, just like Susan Woods, have happened way too many times. Unfortunately, women have to stay on guard and watch their surroundings constantly.
Most cases have been in the past because technology and location sharing were never present during those decades. The more technology advances, the safer women have become. But on the other hand, it has also caused some issues. It has been a double-edged sword, but it’s mainly the men who think they can get away with any of this.
What’s even worse is that some men are quick to blame others or go into hiding. They don’t take accountability for their actions, and that is what happened in the Joseph Scott Hatley case.
It’s interesting to see how long he went with the police suspecting Michael Woods instead of him. He made one man go through so much mental anguish for him to get away with being convicted.
Thanks to technology, fingerprints never lie, and it’s much easier for the police to find the perfect match now. Saving so much time and pain for people. Sadly, all of this is being uncovered now, but these women’s lives have not been forgotten.
By reopening cases and finding their murderer, they are helping family members and honoring her life that was cut short. Whenever stories like this come out, it’s important to re-evaluate how you’re living your life and who you let into it.
Who is Joseph Scott Hatley, and what did he do?
Joseph Scott Hatley was an acquaintance of Woods and even attended her funeral. He signed the guest book without anyone thinking it was him. The heat was on Woods’ husband Michael. They didn’t have the best divorce, and he had even left the state with her car as the divorce went through.
How was Susan Woods killed?
1987 Susan Woods was found in her bathtub in Stephenville, Texas. She was brutally raped and murdered. Everyone had a gut feeling about who did it, and unfortunately, her husband got the brunt of the attacks.
Where is Joseph Scott Hatley Now?
It was uncovered that Joseph Scott Hatley had been found dead inside his trailer house after discovering he had cancer. The morning he was supposed to start chemotherapy, he took his own life.
He couldn’t live with the thought of having cancer and going through chemo because he thought the outcome would be the same.
How did DNA evidence convict Joseph Scott Hatley?
Michael Woods always insisted that he was innocent and lived under suspicion for two decades, fearing arrest and a lengthy prison sentence hanging over his head. His prints never matched the ones at the crime scene.
In 2006, because of DNA evidence, Detective Don Miller used the FBI’s new electronic database of fingerprints that police got a match for a new suspect.
